We finished up installing the lower wing leading edges, wing tips, hinges and bell cranks. As Dave pointed out, it is nice installing stuff for the final time. Next step is the aileron coves and these babies will be ready for cover.
I apologize for not having any pictures, I did take them but my POC Motorola Droid 3 wont let me retrieve the pics. Ugh I hate Motorola and phone contracts. Pics to come.
So the right wing leading edge and wing tip are all glued up, the hinges and bell cranks are all installed and the wing is taking shape nicely. Check out the pics.
Special Thanks to Steve Wolf and Tony Horvath at Specialty Aero. The cowling is awesome, the canopy… Well the pictures don’t do justice to how cool it really was to see. Since the right wing was done, it only made sense to pull the wings off the table and throw the fuse up for a little look. All of a sudden and for the first time you can see some shape to the fuse. The canopy comes with the front panel, from the cabanes back. Under which will sit the instrument panel and what the canopy closes on. So you can see the distance between the Top wing and the top of the fuselage. The B is much taller and feels that way. The 1-11, with top wing right there, it makes it feel like one hot little ride.
I look at these pictures and can’t help but giggle. Ok seriously, having varnished the lower wings, they now look like a real set of wings. Here we are fitting the leading edges.
The last couple of weeks we have been fitting the bell cranks, idler, push tubes and ailerons into the lower wings. Everything is lining up nicely and controls feel smooth. Here are a couple of pics.
This old adage always rings true. It has been Two months and the best way to describe them would be slow and calculating. There is no replacement for experience but when lacking it the only way forward is cautiously and meticulous. When we initially rigged the wings, we leveled the fuselage. Then hung the top wing, and I struts, then brought the lower wings up to them. Right off the bat our alignment was precarious. The I struts would not fit. From that point we measured everything again. We checked the cabane struts again. We went through the components. Then we reached out to Steve and Tony. And it was with their advice that we were able to zero in on our problem.
You have to start with the top wing. We created two jigs for the top and bottom wings so we could properly level the wings along the chord line not the fuselage. As soon as we leveled the top wing, and we hung the I struts, then once again brought the lower wings up, all of a sudden everything fit like a glove. It was like one of those “A-Duh” moments and only the kind you can really appreciate once you experience it.
You could imagine our relief. I mean you spend all this time building these major components, you think you have done a fine job. You think your attention to detail will pay off and everything will go to plan. So when they don’t you can only imagine our trepidation. What did we screw up, where did we go wrong. So we were very relieved to see everything fall into place.
The next few months should prove to be very exciting. Now with a strait pair of wings we can install the control system and hardware and then apply the leading edges. We have to build the upper ailerons, do a final fit with everything in place on the wings and at that point we will be ready for sealing the wood and covering the wings. That would make a great Christmas present to myself. 
Stay tuned, hopefully we are rounding second base and are well on our way to third.
Where is this summer going? I can’t believe August is only a week away. Today was a good day. We threw the top wing on with the bottom wings and placed the I Struts between the wings. Took some measurements and got the tip to tail of both wings within 1/8 of an inch. We have some tweaking to do here and there but overall she is looking good. It takes some imagination, but she actually is shaping up. I can’t believe it has been 2 1/2 years and counting but we keep pushing forward. Here are the latest pictures.
Sorry for Two months without updates. Things have been busy to say the least. April and May were about Two things: 1) getting 98R annualed and 2) final preparations for my wedding the 27th and 28th. As usual I over burdened myself with things to do, but hey that is what keeps us young right.
For the wedding we made our own candleobras and aisle candle stands. 6, 5 candle, candleobras and 12 single candle stands for the aisle.
98R came through the annual very well, a lot of small maintenance things that I have been putting off and have been piling up and I added a smoke system. Getting everything together for that was quite the job and took a large chunk of time. But now she is back online and ready for the season. Here are some pics of the smoke install…
It’s been just over two years since we started this project. Again I can’t thank Dave and Wayne enough for their help!! The lower wings have always looked small, but seen here with the ailerons mounted, well, in my opinion they look awesome!! This is a cool point for me and one I have been waiting for, for a while. Now they look like wings. It is nice to see everything line up and fit the way it should. There is still a lot of work to be done, but this is a nice milestone!
I have to say, Dave has been an incredible help and none of this would be possible without Dave or Wayne!
So the ailerons are really coming together. We have one spar doubled and glued and fitted for the leading edge, have a look.
